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Resource Management Act 1991

Standards, policy statements, and plans - National direction - National environmental standards

43: Regulations prescribing national environmental standards

You could also call this:

"Rules to protect New Zealand's environment and keep it clean and healthy"

The Governor-General can make regulations called national environmental standards. You can find out what these standards are about in sections like section 9, section 11, section 12, section 13, section 14, and section 15. These standards can be about things like water quality, air quality, and noise.

The regulations can include standards for things like contaminants, water, air, and soil. They can also include methods for monitoring these things. You can think of monitoring like keeping an eye on something to make sure it is okay.

The regulations can apply to the whole of New Zealand, or just to a specific area. They are a type of law that is made under another law, and you can learn more about this type of law in Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM233303.

Topics:
Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Town planning
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"A proposed plan is a suggested plan that hasn't been approved yet."

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43A: Contents of national environmental standards, or

"What's in the rules to protect New Zealand's environment"

Part 5Standards, policy statements, and plans
National direction: National environmental standards

43Regulations prescribing national environmental standards

  1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations, to be known as national environmental standards, that prescribe any or all of the following technical standards, methods, or requirements:

  2. standards for the matters referred to in section 9, section 11, section 12, section 13, section 14, or section 15, including, but not limited to—
    1. contaminants:
      1. water quality, level, or flow:
        1. air quality:
          1. soil quality in relation to the discharge of contaminants:
          2. standards for noise:
            1. standards, methods, or requirements for monitoring.

              1. The regulations may include:

              2. qualitative or quantitative standards:
                1. standards for any discharge or the ambient environment:
                  1. methods for classifying a natural or physical resource:
                    1. methods, processes, or technology to implement standards:
                      1. non-technical methods or requirements:
                        1. exemptions from standards:
                          1. transitional provisions for standards, methods, or requirements.

                            1. Section 360(2) applies to all regulations made under this section.

                            2. Regulations made under this section may apply—

                            3. generally; or
                              1. to any specified district or region of any local authority; or
                                1. to any specified part of New Zealand.

                                  1. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

                                  Notes
                                  • Section 43: replaced, on , by section 18 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 23).
                                  • Section 43(1)(a): amended, on , by section 27 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 87).
                                  • Section 43(2)(da): inserted, on , by section 28(1) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                                  • Section 43(4): inserted, on , by section 28(2) of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                                  • Section 43(5): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).